Odd Fellows

Several theories aim to explain the etymological background of the name "Odd Fellows," often rendered "Oddfellows" in British English. In 18th-century United Kingdom, major trades were organised in guilds or other forms of syndicates, but smaller trades did not have equivalent social or financial security. One theory has it that "odd fellows", people who exercised unusual, miscellaneous "odd trades", eventually joined together to form a larger group of "odd fellows." The name was supposedly adopted at a time when the severance into sects and classes was so wide that persons aiming at social union and mutual help were a marked exception to the general rule. Any suggestion of history before the 18th century is considered mere speculation. ==History==

(1725–1797), initially a young radical journalist, then gradually more conservative; one of the first documented Odd Fellows. (1726–1784), an Odd Fellow who famously advocated civil liberties and reliefs in the United Kingdom, including Catholic emancipation. Subsequently, the Odd Fellows became religiously and politically independent. , later King George IV of the United Kingdom (1762–1830), admitted in 1780, was the first documented of many odd fellows to also adhere to freemasonry; both societies remained mutually independent. Background The Odd Fellows are one of the earliest and oldest fraternal societies, but their early history is obscure and largely undocumented. Traditions tracing the fraternity's origins back to Roman emperors Nero and Titus are considered dubious. The evolution of the society from medieval guilds, however, is more reliably documented. By the 13th century, tradesmen's guilds had become established and prosperous. During the 14th century, guild masters moved to protect their power and wealth by restricting access to the guilds. In response, the less experienced and less wealthy fellows established their rival guilds., , One Edwardian Oddfellow history argued that in 1710 there was a 'Loyal Lintot of Oddfellows' in London. The first Oddfellows group in South Yorkshire, England, dates from 1730. The earliest surviving documented evidence of an “Oddfellows” lodge is the minutes of Loyal Aristarchus Oddfellow Lodge no. 9 in England, dated 12 March 1748. By it being lodge number 9, this connotes that there were older Oddfellows lodges that existed before this date. After the failure of Bonnie Prince Charlie's uprising in 1745, in 1789, these two Orders formed a partial amalgamation as the Grand United Order of Oddfellows. These days they are more commonly known as "The Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society" (GUOOFS), abandoning all political and religious disputes and committing itself to promoting the harmony and welfare of its members. Some books mention that there was a lodge of the 'Union Order of Oddfellows' in London in 1750, and one in Derby in 1775. The Oddfellows Magazine of 1888 included a picture of a medal presented to the secretary of a lodge of the Grand Independent Order of Oddfellows in 1796. In a magazine review of a 1798 sermon preached in the Sheffield Parish Church, the "Oddfellows appear to be very numerous with about thirty-nine lodges of them in London and its vicinity, two at Sheffield, and one at each of the following places: Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Windsor, Wandsworth, Canterbury, Liverpool, Richmond in Surrey and Lewes". This suggested that the "Original United Order of Oddfellows" consisted of a total of 50 lodges at that time. In 1810, various lodges of the Union or United Order in the Manchester area declared themselves as an "Independent Order", and organized the "Manchester Unity of Oddfellows", which chartered the Odd Fellows in North America in 1819. International evolution United Kingdom • 1748: Earliest surviving records of an oddfellows lodge is the manuscript of the rules, dated 1748, of the Loyal Aristarcus Lodge No. 9 which met in the Oakley Arms in Southwark, the Globe Tavern in Hatton Garden and the Boar's Head in Smithfield, London. • mid-18th century: Order of Patriotic Oddfellows • 1820: Improved Independent Order of Oddfellows (South London) based in Newburgh, Fife, is the only lodge of Oddfellows left in Scotland • 1832: Ancient and Noble (Bolton Unity) split from the Grand United Order in 1832, dissolved in 1962 • 1832: Ancient National Order of Oddfellows (Bolton) • 1900: National Independent Order of Oddfellows • 1910: Caledonian Order of United Oddfellows formed in 1819 in Baltimore by Thomas Wildey, chartered by the British Manchester Unity, separated in 1842, today with lodges in approximately 29 countries. • 1843: The American Grand United Order of Odd Fellows (GUOOF) formed in 1843, receiving its charter from the British Grand United Order of Oddfellows (rather than the American IOOF). ==Catholic opposition==

The Catholic Church in the 19th and early 20th centuries condemned secretive societies such as the Freemasons, deemed "pseudo-religious", but also addressed other organisations, including expressing suspicions against the stated religious neutrality and independence of Oddfellows. In 1907, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, the Most Rev Diomede Falconio, in reply to a query from the Rev Novatus Benzing, OFM, of Phoenix, Arizona, determined that the Daughters of Rebekah, the auxiliary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as the female auxiliaries of other condemned secret societies, fell under the same category of condemnation. However, permission for "passive membership" in female groups affiliated with societies condemned by the church in 1894 (including the Knights of Pythias and Sons of Temperance) could be granted individually under certain conditions, viz. that the person in question had joined the group in good faith before the condemnation, that leaving the group would cause financial hardship due to the loss of sick benefits and insurance, that if permission is granted dues would only be paid by mail, the parishioner would not attend any lodge meetings, and the society would not have anything to do with the person's funeral. Since 1975, however, several Catholic priests have become members of the Odd Fellows. One of them was Father Titian Anthos Miani, who joined Scio Lodge No. 102 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in Linden, California. As soon as the controversy declined and religious leaders began to accept secular organizations, numerous pastors, priests, bishops and rabbis from different religious sects have become members and some even held leadership positions in the Odd Fellows. ==See also==